CytoSorbents (NASDAQ: CTSO) said it has won another round of funding from the U.S. government to commercialize its HemoDefend red blood cell (RBC) transfusion filter.
The critical-care immunotherapy company, based in Monmouth Junction, N.J., specializes in blood purification. The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), a division of the National Institutes of Health, granted the three-year, Phase IIB Bridge Small Business Innovation Research award of up to $3 million.
The HemoDefend-RBC filter is designed to improve the safety and quality of the blood supply by reducing non-infectious contaminants in packed red blood cells such as potassium, free hemoglobin, bioactive lipids, cytokines and antibodies. These contaminants can cause problematic and potentially life-threatening transfusion reactions. More than 100 million RBC units are transfused worldwide each year, and according to the American Red Cross, someone in the U.S. needs blood every 2 seconds.
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